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' R. B. AVERY.

. GAR STARTER AND BRAKE. y No. 357,263. Patented Feb. 8, 1887.

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v8. B. AVERY GAR STARTER AND BRAKE.

No. 857,288. Patented Feb. 8, 1887. A

UNITED vSTATES -,PISAFENT EEICE RIOHARD R. AvERY, OE NEW YoRx, N. Y., AssIeNoR OE ONE-HALE To GEORGE R. HIILME, OE sAME PLACE.

CAR STARTER AND BRAKE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357.263. dated Februy 8, 1887.

Application filed May 20, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD B. AvERY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certaih new and useful Improvements in Car Starters and Brakes; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a bottom View of a car having devices embodying invention applied thereto. Fig.v 2 is aside elevation thereof, showing the arrangement of the gearing for starting the car. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the opposite side, showing the gearing for braking'and storing the power.- Fig. 4 is a rear, and Fig 5 a front, elevation of the devices. Fig. 6 is a lon gitudinal central section of the car-bed,'ship yping-lever, coiledstoring-spring, and iis casving. Fig. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the storing-spring, its casing, shaft,

and bevel-pinions. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail View of the end of the coiled sp ring-ratchet. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of a portion of one of the bevelgears, showing the preferred form of teeth. Fig. 10 is adetached plan of the del vices, showing how they may be secured to a bed-plate so as to be readily attached to and detached from the bottom of the car.

Like letters refer to like parts wherever they occur. p

My present invention relates to that class of devices for braking and starting cars wherein the power abstracted in braking is stored in a coiledor equivalent spring, and subsequently utilized by means of a suit-able gearing as an auxiliary force in starting the car.

Heretofore thedevices employed have been of a more or less complicated character,liable to be deranged by the wear and tear of-street railroad service, and the constant use resulting from frequent stopping and starting of the car have demanded more skill, care, and a-ttention than can be obtained from the average street-car employ, and have been more or less difficult to attach to cars of the ordinary construction.

lhe main objects of my present invention are to simplify the mechanism, whereby it is not only rendered cheaper and more durable,

l but more manageable by unskilled labor; to so construct it as to facilitate its attachment to or removal from the car for repairs, and to so` combine the shifting mechanism and gearing as to obtain all the power necessary to bring the mechanism intoroperation quickly under all conditions incident to the use of such devices. n

For said several purposes it consists, generally stated, first, in combining with a caraxle having suitable gear wheels or pinions a shaft having a coiled power-spring, a movable or sliding pinion arranged on the shaft, and a shipping-lever for controlling the sliding pinion, whereby the power exerted in arresting the motion of the axle is stored inthe coiled spring; and, secondly, in combining with the rstrecited devices, or their equivalents, a second pinion fast on the spring-shaft and a third movable pinion controlled by the-ship- 7c ping-lever, whereby the power stored in the coiled spring may be exerted on the axle.

It also consists in securing the shippiIIg-lever and the bearings of the spring-shaft to a bed -plate, whereby all the mechanism employed (excepting the pinions on the axle) may be readily attached and removed, and whereby the strength of the connections and support of the devices are greatly enhanced.

There are also certain' novel details of construction, all of which will hereinafter more fully appear.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more specifically, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the in'- vention.

In thedrawings, A indicates the bed or bottom of the car, B the axles, and C the wheels thereof. At suitable intervals on one of the axles Bare placed two bevel-pinions, a b, the first, a, for imparting power to a spring-shaft, and the second, b, for receiving power from the spring-shaft. Y

Parallel with the car-axle B, and supported in suitable bearings, is a spring-shaft, C,.or shaft to which one end of a coiled spring is attached. If desired, the bearings of this shaft C may be on the case D, which incloses the coiled spring.

cindicates a powerful spring, preferably flat, roo

one end of which is attached to the casing D, as at c', or to any other suitable xed point, while the other is attached to the shaft C, as at c, so that the spring will be coiled and un` coiled by the rotation of shaft C.

d is a bevel-pinion, arranged on that end of the shaft C which corresponds with the position of bevel-pinion a of the axle, andsaid pinion or gear wheel d is adapted to slide longitudinally on the shaft C, into and out of gear with pinion u, but to turn with the shaft C, and this maybe accomplished by making the shaft polygonal in cross-scction, as at d, by means of a spline or feather, or by any of the many ways known to the skilled mechanic. In the outer l'ace of this pinion or gear wheel d is a coiling groove, d, say onc-hal1` or threequarters of an inch deep, and which makes one, two, three, or more coils, regulated by the number oi' turns oi' the axle you desire for coiling the spring c, said groove dl terminating in a deeper slot or pin-hole, d3, (see Fig. 7,) which groove and slot are for the receptiou of the spring-ratchet I shall next describe. ,Y

e indicates an arm or post, secured to some ixed point, and extending alongside of the sliding bevel-pinion d, curved or bent at its free end so as io bring the same into the coiling groove d: of the said pinion. Secured to the lree end of this arni or poste, and coiled in t-he groove d2 of the pinion (Lis aiat spring,

f, having at its free end a projection or pin, g,

(see Fig. 8,) adapted to enter the pin-hole Z3 at the end of groove d2 in the face of pinion d. The springf always remains in groove d2, but when the pinion d is moved back from arm or post e the sp ringf does not touch the bottom of the groove, and consequently the pin g at the end of the spring does not enter the pinhole df, so that the pinion d moves freely and independently of the spring f. Vhen, however, the pinion d is moved toward post e, as in throwing it into gear with the bevel-pinion a, the pin g will in duc course drop into the pin-hole d, so that the springf forms aspringratchet for the pinion d, and said ratchet, being in the nature of a spring or friction-band, has many advantages over the ordinary spring dog or pawl and ratchet-wheel.

Secured to the opposite end of shaft C, and substantially in line with the bevel-pinion b of the axle, is a second bevel-pinion, h, for iinparting the power from coiled spring c to axle B.

E indicates the shipping-lever, having a fixed pivot, as at i, so arranged as to give all the leverage required for operating or shifting the pinions d and 7.: and for holding them up to theii` work when shifted. At the extremity of the outer or long arm -of the lever Eis a rack, E', which meshes with the pinion E2 on the shalt F of the hand-wheel or brake-rod, by means of which the shipping-lever may be operated. The short arm of shipping-lever E is bent or L-shaped, and terminates in afork, G, which incloses and controls the pinion d,

so as to shift the position thereby accordingly .as the lever or shipper E is moved.

Extending from the shipping-lever E, at a point between its pivot t' and the fork G, is an arm or shaft, II, on the outer end of which is journaled a beveled pinion, l', adapted to mesh with the pinion I) of the axle, and also with the bevel-pinion h on the 'end of shaft C when the shipping-lever is properly placed for that purpose.

In order to facilitate the gearing or meshing ofthepinions when shifted, the teeth tlicreofare preferably formed of Vshaped cross-section, substantially as shown in Fig. 9, and this, in conjunction with the coiled power-spring and spring-ratchet, will aid materially in relieving the mechanism from shocks and jars when shifted into and out of gear with the pinions on the axle B.

The shippingdever E and the casing D, as also the bearings of springshaft C and springratchet f, may be attached directly and independently to the bottom of the car, as shown in Fig. l; but as this would require the relative adjustment of the several parts wherever they were attached or replaced, and' would multiply the number of fastenings at different points on the car-botto1n, with consequent loss of strength in the individual fastenings, I prefer to secu re or mount all the above-recited parts on a single bed-plate, (or snspensionplate) I), as shown in Fig. 10, as thereby the connection between the several parts and the plateP can be made at the shops, and can be more thoroughly and easily accomplished, While the plate P can be more readily and securely bolted to the bottom of the car than could the individual elements composing the devices.

The devices being of the general character hereinbefore described will operate as follows: Vhen the shipping-lever E stands in position to keep the pinion d out ol' gear with a, and k out of gear with b and h, the devices will be inoperative, but when it is desired to arrest the motion of the car or apply the brakes thereto, the shipping-lever E is moved by means of shaft F and pinion Ewhich meshes in the rack E on the end olvl lever E, so as to cause bevel-pinion d of the spring-shaft C to mesh with bevel-pinion a of axle B. This movement of sliding bevel-pinion d forces the spring-ratchet f to the bottom of groove d in the face of pinion d, and the pin g enters pinhole ds. The motion of axle B is communicated to spring-shaft C, winding up spring c and arresting the motion of axle B by a gradual spring or yielding resistance, which precludes sudden jars or shocks. Vhen the spring-shaft has given spring c the number of coils corresponding to the number of coils of spring-ratchct f, said ratchet comes into play and prevents the uncoiling of spring c so long as the pinions a and d are in mesh and the spring-ratchet f is in the bottom of groove d. W'hen, however, it is desired to employ the power stored in spring c for starting the car,

IOO

IIO

IIS

the shipping-lever E is moved by the devices before specified in the reverse direction until the pinion lc meshes with the pinion h on the spring-shaft C and the pinion b on the axle B, which movement of the lever E draws pinion daway from post e, lifts spring f partly out of groovedso that pin gis drawn out of pinhole da, thus freeing the pinion d of shaft C and allowing power-spring c to uncoil and apply its power through shaft C and pinions h k b to the axle B as an auxiliary in starting the car.

I am aware that a coiled-spring accumulator arranged on a spring-shaft having a sliding bearing and having pinions which mesh with pinions on the axle has heretofore been devised, and do not herein claim such a combination, as the tendency thereof is to causethe brakes 'to be applied by the action of the spring sliding bearing of the shaft, unless th movement of the shalt is constantly restricted by the brake-chain.

Having thus pointed out the construction, operation, and advantages vof my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a car brake and starter, the combination, with a car-axle having a pinion thereon, of a spring-shaft having a .sliding pinion, a shipping-lever for controlling the sliding pinion, and a coiled power-spring, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a car brake and starter, the combination, with an axle havinga pinion thereon, of a spring shaft, a power-spring, a sliding pinion having a coiling groove in its face, and a coil-spring ratchet, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

xed andasliding pinion, a coiled spring attached tothe springlshaft, a shippinglever having afork to control the sliding pinion of the spring-shaft, and a pinion-arm and a pinion, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. In a car brake and starter, the combination, with the shipping lever, spring shaft andits bearings, and apoWer-spring, of abedplate whereon said parts are secured so as to preserve the connection and relation of the several parts when detached from the car-bed,

Asubstantially as and for the purposes specified.

6. In a car brakeand starter, the combination, with the movable gearing, of a pivoted lever havinga rack, and a pinion for operating the said lever,` substantially as and for the purposes specified. A

In testimony whereof Iafx my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 19th day of May, 1886.

RICHARD B. AVERY.

VVit-nesses:

HENRY E. GoULn, HENRY C. WIssMAN. 

